Ace Your Job Search with a Video Cover Letter

In a highly competitive job market, you need a plan to stand out! A video cover letter is a great way to create a unique and memorable application in any industry.

But what exactly is a video cover letter?

Video cover letter definition

A video cover letter is, quite simply, a cover letter for a job application in video format. A cover letter should accompany your resume by detailing why you’re qualified for the position and how it fits into your career goals. It’s a good space for you to expand upon what is listed in your resume and make the best case for your application. In a video cover letter, you relay this information through audio and video instead of text. Typically, you provide a link to your video cover letter in your email or application so that your recipient can view it online, side-by-side with your resume.

Check out this sample cover letter video to learn more:

Why use a video cover letter?

Video will make your application stand out from the rest of the pack and thus make it more memorable. Additionally, information relayed via video is more likely to be remembered than via text: people remember 95% of information in a video vs. just 10% in text. If your hiring manager is digging through a lot of applications at once, sending in a video cover letter is the best way to ensure that they remember you.

Furthermore, video allows you to introduce yourself in a way that’s more personable. With video, you can communicate with non-verbal cues like eye contact, facial expressions, and hand gestures. Your reviewer will be able to put a face to your name after viewing your video cover letter and will have a better understanding of what kind of person and employee you are. In fact, Dollar Shave Club commissioned a study that found you only have 27 seconds to make a great first impression. This is an excellent way to help a hiring team get to know you before the interview.

Finally, a video cover letter makes it easier for your reviewer to digest the information you present and connect it with the rest of your application. Your reviewer can watch your video while reading your resume and match up your qualifications to past experiences. They can easily take notes during your video that they can bring up during an interview. Video cover letters make the experience of sorting through job applications easier and more exciting.

Benefits of adding a video cover letter to your application

Whether you’re a seasoned professional or looking for your first job out of school, a video cover letter has three major benefits right off the bat.

1. Showcase your personality

Employers aren’t just looking for qualified candidates; they want to hire people who they like! So, using video to present yourself will help them get to know you better

2. Stand out in the application pool

Competition is fierce. You have unique skills and perspectives to offer, but you won’t always get far enough into the hiring process to show what you know. A video cover letter is the first step to standing out.

3. Communicate as you would in person

Do you ever struggle to sound like “you” when you’re updating your resume or filling out an application? Video mimics the in-person communication experience, so you can more naturally express yourself.

Showcase your skills and competitive edge

Beyond being a great tool to stand out from the competition and make a great first impression, your decision to use video also demonstrates your grasp of technology and willingness to innovate. Using a video cover letter as a job candidate allows you to demonstrate both hard and soft skills like:

• Your grasp on media skills and technology if that’s important to your job (like IT, marketing, or media relations, to name a few)

• Your personality and communication style if you’re applying for a consumer- or client-facing role

• Your desire to innovate and stand out from other candidates

• Your willingness to try new things and adapt to bold ideas

• Your ability to work collaboratively and use digital communication tools, especially for remote jobs

Video cover letter best practices

To create an effective video cover letter, you need to follow best practices. Fortunately, we have a lot of experience creating videos. Here are some things to keep in mind while recording your video cover letter:

• Start by introducing yourself State your name and the position you’re applying for so your reviewer instantly knows whose application they are watching.

• Use your recipient’s name If you know who’s reviewing your application, make sure to greet them by name in your video. If you don’t know their name, still say hi and mention the name of the company.

• Find the right lighting Nothing is worse than recording a video and then discovering your face was washed out! Make sure that you’ve found the perfect lighting before beginning your video. If you don’t have professional lighting, don’t worry; do a quick test with your laptop camera facing natural light.

• Smile Think of how you’d make an impression in real life and apply that to your video cover letter. Keep the same positive attitude in your video that you would in an interview. Remember: you’re not just emphasizing your skills, you’re demonstrating what kind of person you are!

• Make eye contact Same as above, maintain eye contact like you would during an interview. This will make your video seem more like a personal conversation and impress your reviewer. Looking directing into your webcam camera mimics eye contact on screen.

• Keep it 1-2 minutes in length If you make your video too long, your reviewer may find their attention drifting. A video cover letter should highlight your top qualifications but not provide detailed commentary about your entire professional career. Keep it 1-2 minutes in length.

• Don’t worry about little mistakes If you briefly misspeak or add in a few “ums,” you don’t have to re-record everything. Little mistakes will make you seem more human and personable.

• Conclude with gratitude Sign off from your video by thanking them for the opportunity to apply for the position. You can also list your availability for an interview and any necessary contact information.

Thinking beyond the introduction

At Covideo, we always recommend you use your best tools right out of the gate. Video is one of your strongest tools to connect and make an impression, so including a video cover letter alongside your resume is a great call!

However, you shouldn’t hesitate to use video throughout the hiring process, especially if you’re working in a remote role. Candidates can also use video in follow-up emails. Your hiring manager may be busy, or if you’re working with a recruiter, you want to stay top of mind. If you haven’t heard about your application, send a video to that manager’s inbox.

The implications of video as a virtual recruiting tool are clear, but there are times where it’s a smart move for the candidate side to use video as well.

How to send video cover letters

Most people have a built-in phone camera or webcam, which work great for video cover letters! You don’t need any fancy equipment to get started, but you should put some thought into how you send. Videos can be tricky to include over email. Oftentimes, they are too large to include as an attachment. You could also use a free host like YouTube, but you cannot control what other videos play after yours or what advertisements may be on the page. This could draw attention away from your message.

Sending with Covideo

Covideo is a video messaging software that provides a space for users to store their videos outside of a website or video hosting site. Once you record or upload a video to your Covideo account, you can easily share over text, email, social media, and more.

Our interface gives you the option to quickly copy a link to your video, save HTML to add to a webpage, or share the CRM code, which includes an animated gift with your video. Sharing is easy, and seeing the impact of your outreach is even easier—we track all your analytics in the Covideo app, so you can see who watched your video and which parts caught the most attention.

Covideo solves several problems that come up for job candidates looking to share a video cover letter:

• Covideo has unlimited storage, so you don’t need to use your own hard drive or cloud space on massive files.

• Your Covideos embed as a link—not an attachment—in emails and texts, which improves deliverability and speed (and keeps you out of spam folders).

• Videos cannot fully play in an email window, so Covideo includes a clickable, animated gif when you share that gives your viewer a preview of your entire video cover letter.

• The embedded link will open on a customized landing page. Unlike other hosting sites, that means no ads, no other videos, and no comments surrounding your video cover letter.

• Your Covideo landing page also includes customizable CTAs, so your recipient can view your online portfolio, give you a call, or download your resume with a click. You control your viewer’s journey and keep their attention.

• Being ghosted by a recruiter is the worst. Covideo has the built-in benefit of notifying you when someone views your video, so you know it made it into the right hands.

Tools for recruiters and hiring managers

If you’re hiring or recruiting new employees, you can also request a video cover letter from your prospects. This approach has many benefits:

• Save time by getting “facetime” with candidates before the official interview.

• Get to know remote or faraway colleagues more personally.

• Streamline application reviews with videos sent straight to your inbox.

• Give your contact an easy (and free) way to record and share video.

• Get notified when prospects view your video and plan follow-up.

The trick to easily requesting video cover letters from your prospects is a tool like Covideo’s video reply feature. You can record and send a video to anyone you like (or multiple people), and in the top corner, there will be an option that says, “Reply with video.” Your contact can click that button and create a video with their own response—no software or downloads required.

Get the tools you need to create video cover letters today

Covideo is an all-in-one solution for recording, sending, and tracking videos, making it a perfect tool for creating an impactful video cover letter. Try out a free trial, and upgrade your job search!